Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents are worried that ice, the frozen water substance, will reflect poorly on ICE, the masked, armed subjects of mass protests, during the ongoing winter storm affecting large parts of the United States. In an effort to avoid negative semantic association, the Department of Homeland Security has reportedly asked Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers to limit their use of the term “ice” in messaging around the storm. “What they are worried about here is that by posting something like ‘Watch out for the ice,’ it’s going to become an opportunity for a meme, for internet fodder, for public ridicule against the department,” CNN correspondent Gabe Cohen said. Instead, DHS would prefer FEMA use the term “freezing rain” when discussing the catastrophic winter storm that threatens millions of Americans. At present, at least 18 states have declared a state of emergency as heavy snow, ice (a.k.a. “freezing rain”), and extreme cold descend on roughly two-thirds of the U.S. population. “They’re afraid of memes, meanwhile lives are on the line,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper added. “Another incredibly idiotic story.”
CNN: DHS officials have come to FEMA staff and told them to limit the use of the word ice…they are worried that by posting something like, watch out for the ice, that it's going to become a meme…. pic.twitter.com/2EFJ2aUROc
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 24, 2026
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